http://marknelson.us Programming, mostly. Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:45:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This isn't the first time I've complained about innumeracy, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Just to get off on the right foot, let me give the definition of the word from thesite innumeracy.com: A term meant to convey a person's inability to make sense of the numbers that ... http://marknelson.us/2008/07/20/innumeracy-part-n/ Slate has a regular piece called Explainer, subtitled "Answers to your questions about the news." A while back, they apparently lost their Explainer and asked for applications for a replacement. As part of the application, they requested that you submit a list of 10 sample questions to be explained. Now, I ... http://marknelson.us/2008/06/02/slate-rips-me-off/ Yes, another middle manager in my organization has decided to part ways with my employer, Cisco Systems, Inc. Dave Corley has been a key part of Cisco since he was acquired along with the rest of Selsius in 1998. He's now giving us a friendly handshake and showing himself out ... http://marknelson.us/2008/05/21/corley/ Read over your compositions, and where ever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out – Samuel Johnson Monday, November 17, 2008 8:00 AM Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My name is Maxine Perkins and for the next six weeks, I will be either your best ... http://marknelson.us/2008/04/28/efl/ Apple is in the middle of a minor fuss right now over their use of software updates as a promotional device. It turns out that if you are a Windows user with a copy of iTunes, Apple’s update process does its best to get you to install a copy ... http://marknelson.us/2008/03/31/how-evil-is-apple/ Jeff Bezos Hawks the Kindle It's still not clear whether electronic books are the wave of the future or a consumer products cul-de-sac. Technology continues to improve, and there are certainly lots of good reasons for a device like Amazon's Kindle to be the leading edge of a major wave of ... http://marknelson.us/2008/02/11/cashing-in-on-e-books/ Jerome Kerviel is (or by the time you read this, was) a stock trader for French bank Societe Generale. Jerome is supposed to execute stock trades, probably according to some very specific programs, in order to keep the bank's assets humming along. But like any of us, Jerome had a rough ... http://marknelson.us/2008/01/28/kerviel/ American Express is so excited about having me as a customer that they were willing to pay me $5 to take part in a survey: American Express Needs YOUR Feedback! Dear American Express Blue Cardmember: American Express would like your feedback. We would like you to participate in a survey about your Blue ... http://marknelson.us/2007/12/11/amex-survey/ For the last few months I've been up to my eyeballs in algorithms - school, work, writing, you name it. In honor of the often puzzling topics I've been working on, here's a little crossword with an algorithms theme. The java applet that lets you solve online has a bit ... http://marknelson.us/2007/12/04/algorithms-crossword/ Hi loyal readers, I'm doing a little background research for an article on music downloads, and as a result, need some people to fill out a survey. The goal of the survey is to get a little background on people's attitudes, plus a comparison of differences in attitudes between old people ... http://marknelson.us/2007/11/24/help-needed/